What’s the relationship between living and artificial systems? How can we combine the two to form sophisticated solutions to challenges in science and engineering? The annual conference Living Machines puts these questions under the microscope.
Continue reading
Boston Dynamic’s been keeping dog lovers happy throughout their steady development of BigDog, a robot with uncannily canine gait and maneuvers. Now, feline aficionados can finally rejoice as WildCat makes its way into the robot world.
Continue reading
Jellies are on a world-wide rise: we’ve made the mess, now it’s time to clean it up!
They may be found in swarms of marvelous colours, or floating solitary like transparent pieces of blown glass. From waters East to West, and North to South the jellyfish knows Continue reading
An ancient Arabic machine manuscript
What’s so great about machines?
It’s easy to see how some of today’s mechanical marvels like NASA’s Mars Spirit Rover or The HRP-4C, created by The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), inspire jaw-dropping wonder. Who made that? And how on earth does it do that? Are all natural questions that come to mind in the face of these modern works. However, there’s something about animated bits of wire and metal that have intrigued humans for centuries.
Continue reading
In the near future, doctors may try out treatments on virtual versions of ourselves
Advances in medical technology have played a major role in increasing people’s average life expectancy.
Continue reading
Could prominent cultural beliefs affect the way nations are building their machines?
The robots being built around the world seem to be as diverse as the cultures they come from. While some have been engineered solely for people’s practical needs, others have been made to appeal to and keep the company of humans.
Continue reading
A leading expert in the field of Artificial Intelligence argues that smart machines will compliment, not copy us
The term Singularity refers to the theory that — in conformance with the way technology has been advancing— ultra-sophisticated technology is inevitably likely to emerge. Technology so advanced, it would surpasses human intelligence and capability.
Continue reading
Researchers explore the state of the art of Biomimetics
Does it make sense to study the living to make machines? Or explore the intricate architecture of a shell to design a building? Within this field, scientists look to nature for their best ideas—we’re talking about Biomimicry. It’s a scientific field that blends a flow of ideas from the biological sciences into engineering. Biomimetic research is bringing together scientists from disciplines such as Neuroscience, Cell Biology, Computation, Psychology, and many others to produce new technologies that make sense in today’s ever-changing world.
Continue reading
The 6th edition of the Barcelona Cognition, Brain and Technology 2 week summer school
BCBT is back for its 6th summer in sunny Barcelona! Check out the CSN international summer school hosted by SPECS at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.
Harvard University says hello to the tiniest flying robot ever
Pictured next to an American coin, this little machine weighs in at a mere tenth of a gram. The Robobee, developed at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, is officially the smallest flying robot ever created and it’s just completed some very successful first flights.
Continue reading